Ooty: “Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea! How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea” – this famous quote of English writer Rev. Sydney Smith is not just a hyperbolic expression of deep love, appreciation and emotional reliance on tea. It rightfully captures how tea, a rejuvenating beverage, acts as a stabilising ritual that brings warmth, happiness, comfort and sanity in everyday life.
Arguably, tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, after water. While tea is grown in around 50 countries, the global tea trade is a massive, multi-billion-dollar industry deeply connected with farming, history, tradition and global commerce. While India is the second largest producer of tea in the globe, in recent times Nilgiri tea has been witnessing specialty/value addition teas to increase its market potential and to cater to the needs of the present generation tea consumers. In this backdrop, the century-old Billimalai tea estate in Nilgiris, which markets its tea in the brand name “Avataa”, took the initiative to popularise different varieties of Nilgiri tea in Australia to open a new chapter in tea commerce in the changing world to motivate the present day tea growers to tap the potential for the Nilgiri tea in overseas market.
Billimalai estate, wherein the tea story began amidst the mist-covered slopes of the Nilgiris crossed continents in September when its brand Avataa Australia marked its formal launch in Sydney in Australia, thus carrying with it not merely a collection of teas that includes specialty teas like oolong tea, green tea, frost tea, long-ding tea, twirl green tea and white tea, but the heritage of Billimalai Estate, the craft of Nilgiris tea-making and the aspirations of a new generation.
As the generation changes would see innovations, G. Udayakumar’s, the CEO of Billimalai estate, long association with tea and the development of Avataa’s speciality identity at Billimalai is now being carried forward in Australia by his daughter, Aarthi Udayakumar. The launch therefore represented more than market expansion: it was a family legacy moving from one generation to the next, taking the taste of the Nilgiri tea to the Australian continent, while remaining rooted in the garden from which the teas originate.
S. Janakiraman, Consul General of India in Sydney, and Dave Sharma, Senator for New South Wales, took part in the Avataa Australia launch event.
Udayakumar said that Avataa’s story begins at Billimalai Estate near Coonoor. Rather than allowing the identity of the garden to disappear into an anonymous blend, the brand has built its speciality portfolio around provenance, selective plucking and distinctive tea-making. Avataa’s Long Ding Green Tea earned recognition at the
2011 North American Hot Tea Spring Championship and was showcased at the World Tea Expo — an early international milestone for a tea made from high-grown Billimalai leaf.
Stating that this new venture is a tradition re-imagined for Australia, Aarthi Udayakumar said that the Sydney event showed that heritage need not be static. Alongside elegant tea service and tastings, Avataa teas appeared in contemporary beverage and cocktail-style creations. It was a striking expression of versatility: Nilgiris tea, including the specialty teas, moving naturally from the traditional teapot into modern Australian hospitality, while retaining the character of the leaf at its centre, she noted. She added that the Australian outreach brought together land, agriculture, family, migration, hospitality and culture — an Indian garden story finding a
respectful new expression on Australian soil.
For generations, Indian tea has travelled the world. What is changing is the desire of consumers to know where a tea comes from, who made it and what distinguishes its origin. Avataa’s Australian journey speaks directly to that shift. The ambition is not simply to export tea, but to export provenance — to let Billimalai Estate, the Nilgiris and the people behind the leaf remain visible in the cup. Thousands of kilometres separate the Nilgiris from Sydney, but the September launch
brought the two landscapes together through tea. “A father’s work is being carried forward by his daughter; a century-old estate heritage is meeting a contemporary market; and a Nilgiris-grown leaf is finding new ways to be experienced. The tea may travel the world, but its roots remain in the Nilgiris,” Aarthi added.
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